King of Hearts & Queen of Spades
by DreamxxCatcher
Summary: For once, Cobb allows the team a break during their work. Everyone finds something relaxing and independent to do except Ariadne. She soon finds herself in a room with the forger, a deck of cards, and bets that don't come out of her pocket.


**Note: The characters of Inception do not belong to me.**

**Reader's Note: If you do NOT know anything about the card game, Poker, this may be a little difficult to understand…but just roll with it! :-) I made this very quickly, so I hope you like it even though it isn't my best work and may have a bunch of errors.  
**

It was the third day in a row that rain soaked Paris streets and the third time that I was embarrassed to show my cards. Cobb had finally noticed that not only was this tough job taking a toll on our bodies by adding stress and subtracting sleep, but with the dreary weather, it created a thick atmosphere of sluggishness. Cobb decided to give us a much-needed 3 hour break.

Everyone was in a different part of the warehouse with their own personal ways to relax. Cobb was in his personal office, probably reading a book or checking up on his kids. Arthur was listening to classical music and Yusuf was passed out on one of the few comfy chairs we placed in the warehouse.

What was I to do with my time? I didn't have the energy to go anywhere and I am here without my pleasure-reading novels. Boredom was creeping into me making me pace. That's how I ended up _here_. "Here" meaning, sitting on a wooden chair, my elbows resting on the table with the one and only Eames across from me, smirking as usual. He offered me to play a game of poker with him. I had no other option but to join the forger in his favorite game.

My playing cards were held in front of my face in concentration even after Eames proved he had a straight…again. His cards were placed facing me in a perfect line with the black and red numbers scaling up from 6 to 10. "Now, c'mon love, show me your hand." I nodded "no". I didn't even have a match. My highest card was a Jack. How could I lose so helplessly 3 times in a row with my money on the line?

I finally set down my cards and Eames chuckled while he gathered the few dollar bills in the center, adding a comment. "Ariadne, you may be wonderful at constructing mazes, but you need to work on not being an open book when you look at your hand."

I looked up at him, my arms now crossed. "How can you tell?" The forger started to shuffle the cards effortlessly without tearing his gaze away from my eyes. "Well, to start, when receive your cards, you bite your lip if you have a bad combination of cards."

I was intrigued by Eames' ability to notice details and mannerisms. "What else?" I questioned curiously. "You always move a strand of your hair behind your ear when you think you have something good." Now that I thought about it, I _did_ move my hair each time I thought I had a good chance of winning. From now on, I'll try not to be so obvious.

I replied to his keen observations, "Can't expect anything less of a forger." Eames smiled with a hint of pride, "It _is _in my job description, darling."

Eames dealt out the cards once more and laid 50 cents in the center for the bet. Searching my pockets, all I found was a button and a used sticky note. "Looks like I can't gamble anymore," I stated showing my empty pockets.

Eames leaned forward with his sleeves rolled up, one hand holding his chin up, the other holding the deck of cards. He hissed, "No, it isn't. That just means now it's time to make it _interesting_."

I noticed his emphasis on the word "interesting" and I wasn't sure if I liked that or not. "What do you have in mind? A game of go fish?" I leaned back in my chair awaiting his response. He snickered, "I have a better plan. Let's play one more hand of poker. However, instead of money, let's bet something priceless."

Instantly jumping into his proposal, I insisted a bet with giggles following, "Can you bet a promise to walk up to Arthur, hug him, and call him 'My Teddy bear'?" Eames rolled his eyes. He looked like he was about to protest, but then I saw that look evolve into a sly smile. "Fine, but that means you have to bet one kiss on the lips with yours truly and I don't mean any kiss. It can't be a peck, it has to be passionate." He ended his sentence with a wink. Clenching my fists, I accepted his bet.

We sat in silence as we examined our hands. I tapped my finger 3 times indicting for Eames to exchange my cards for 3 new ones. The creaks of the doors were heard and the rain was still pounding at the windows, but still no word was spoken.

"That bad, huh?" Eames abruptly teased. "What? How do you know?" I snapped. Eames pointed at his lip, "You bit it again." I gasped with an "Oh!" and covered my mouth. "I swore I was making sure not to do that," I explained through a muffled voice.

"Before we show our cards," Eames started, "what is your favorite card?" I answered instantly, "The Queen of Spades. How about you?" Eames picked up a single card from his hand and revealed it to me: "The King of Hearts." He flicked it so it landed in front of me.

He then set his cards in a row and lightly flipped up one of them on the end causing the rest to be revealed in succession with a flick of his pointer finger. "Another straight. It's enough to beat your hand, sweetie. You better swallow a mint to prepare."

I sighed, shrugged my shoulders, and exposed my hand card by card: Six of Spades, 2 of Spades, 4 of Spades, 10 of Spades, and the Queen of Spades. A flush.

Eames' jaw dropped open. A flush beats a straight. "Boy, do I love biting my lip," I taunted. Eames' eyebrows burrowed in annoyance. "You sent me mixed signals, my dear Ariadne." I couldn't do anything but grin.

Gathering up the cards in my hand I urged him, "Let's go see your teddy bear!" Just then Eames snatched the cards from my hands and walked to the other side of the room. "What bet?"

Realizing he broke his promise, I stomped up to him demanding my cards back. Like a child, he held up the cards out of my reach. He pretended to yawn as I was leaping up and down in an attempt to retrieve them. "Eames, you promised!" I begged.

He dropped the cards and they fluttered to the ground around us like snow. Before I could do anything, he positioned his hand at the small of my back and yanked me towards him. He twirled me around so I was the one with my back against the wall. He stole a kiss from me and this was no peck. It was as if an electric shock surged through my body. Automatically, my arms wrapped around his neck. Each kiss was fighting to beat the last one in passion and pleasure.

After every couple kisses, I felt him push me further and further against the wall. I didn't notice the pressure; I was too busy gripping his hair with my fingers. Finally, we ended breathless with our foreheads leaning against each others. Eames was looming over me with an arm on the wall to steady himself. I was clinging to his chest, specifically his tie that I was pulling down on. My temperature was slightly altered and my hair was now in a tangled mess. We both sank to the concrete floor slowly and I ended up snuggling with the forger, our hands intertwined and the forger occasionally kissing my head.

Knock, knock, knock. "It is time to resume work," Arthur's voice echoed loudly. Eames and I cast a glance at each other, both realizing that neither one of us wanted to get up, especially after that…session. Reluctantly, we left the room, with the cards still scattered on the floor.

Before I shut the door, I spotted the cards. All of them were face down except two that were overlapping each other: The King of Hearts and the Queen of Spades. I smiled as I closed door only to hear Eames walk up to Arthur with a, "My teddy bear!" followed by a "WHAT THE F-" by Arthur. I definitely can't wait for another break.


End file.
